


The Helpful Detective

by gingerbatch33



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Episode: s04e02 The Lying Detective, Fluff, M/M, Marry Watson is dead, Parentlock, friendship fluff, sherlock tries to be helpful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 17:11:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9281660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingerbatch33/pseuds/gingerbatch33
Summary: John needs help but he would never admit such a thing, so Sherlock tries to help but he has no idea how to do that.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So after watching "The Lying Detective" I felt a lot of things at the same time. I had a hard time falling asleep but in this night I had the cutest dream I’ve ever had so I just HAD to write it down!
> 
> Please keep in mind that I am not a writer and that English is not my first language... So it's probably all crab but I hope you can enjoy it anyway!

It felt like the cab ride took hours not minutes as Sherlock looked down to his phone. His bouncing leg was the only evidence of his nervousness and he really couldn’t help it. He still felt confused and worried as he reread the messages John had send him a few moments ago.

_Dinner? – JW ___

**Not hungry – SH ******

_Well, you know... I don’t care – JW ___

_Would you come either way? – JW ___

**On my way – SH ******

Sherlock had been sitting at his microscope when he had heard the tone of his mobile phone. Sherlock had instantly known who would be writing him at this hour. Sherlock had left everything as it was as he had sent his last text telling John that he’d come to his house. He had known that something was wrong so he took his suit jacket and left to hail a cab.

Sherlock paid the driver when it arrived in front of the Watson house and was out of the cab as fast as he could. As he walked to the door under the stairs he didn’t bother knocking. He knew that it would be open for him, so he just entered. 

“John?” Sherlock asked into the house. It felt empty without Mary in it. Something was missing. He walked into the sitting room where he could see Rosie lying on the floor by her playset. 

“Go and sit down!” he heard John say from the kitchen. So he really did mean dinner when he wrote it. Sherlock walked to the sofa in the sitting room and placed his suit jacked on the armchair. But before he sat down he went to the baby and put the rattle she had probably thrown away next to her. As Sherlock walked back to the sofa he realised that he hadn’t even bothered to roll down his shirtsleeves as he had been leaving his flat so he just left them as they were.

John entered the sitting room with two bowls in his hand. 

“I really am not hungry, John.” Sherlock said as he sat down.

“And I really do not care, Sherlock.” John answered as he pushed to bowl into Sherlock’s hands. John sat down next to him so their legs and shoulders touched.

Sherlock studied the content of the bowl. 

“You’re giving me cereal for dinner?” Sherlock asked confused.

“Yep.” John said and flickered through the TV channels until he found a quiz show he knew Sherlock would enjoy. “Go and judge me for being a bad parent.”

“Why would I judge you? You aren’t feeding the cereal to your child so it has nothing to do with parenting.”

“If you say so.” John said without looking at him and pushed Sherlock’s bowl closer to his mouth.

“Alright! I’ll eat.” Sherlock put a spoonful of the cereal in his mouth. “See? I’m chewing.” 

“Great job!” John’s sarcasm wasn’t to overhear. 

They ate in silence and when they finished, the bowls were placed on the coffee table. Sherlock knew that John had felt lonely. That was the reason why he had been texting Sherlock at this time. But it didn’t bother him. He felt safe here and he had to admit that he missed John so he just enjoyed the comfortable silence they always had at Baker Street when they still lived together. At one time Sherlock kicked his shoes off and placed his feet on the coffee table as John picked up Rosie and held her in his arms. They stayed like that for a long time until Sherlock sensed how John’s breathing got deeper and he slowly fell asleep.

“John?” Sherlock asked silently but John didn’t answer. 

Sherlock looked down at the baby and the baby looked up to him. He could see that her lips started to tremble so he had two choices. Leave her where she was in John’s arms and wake him up by Rosie’s crying or pick her up and put her to bed where she hopefully would not cry. 

Sherlock had never held Rosie in his arms so he was nervous when his hands tried to wiggle between the baby and John’s arms. John was sound asleep as Sherlock lifted the baby and brought her close to his body. 

Sherlock walked carefully to the stairs and started to take each step slowly so he would disturb neither Rosie nor John. He walked past John’s bedroom and straight to Rosie’s room. He opened the door with his shoulder so he had both arms to protect the baby from falling. The room was small and it was obviously that Mary had decorated it. The walls had a green colour and from the corner grew a tree with red apples on the wallpaper. It wasn't specifically a girl’s room but a room a child would feel safe.

Sherlock walked to the small bed where he wanted to lie Rosie down but then he got hit by the smell. He looked down into her face and felt panic rise in his chest.

"You need changing, don’t you?” Sherlock waited as if she could answer him. He had no idea how he was supposed to do that “Should I get your father?”

Sherlock looked to the door he just entered and was just about to call out for John but he stopped himself. "No! We can do this! I just need some help from you. Can you manage that?" He asked the baby. 

"Good... so now... Nappies..."

Sherlock laid the baby down on the changing table to his left and opened the drawers underneath her but all he found were baby clothes.

"Nope, not here. A little help would be gladly appreciated Rosie."

The baby started to wiggle where she was lying and held her arms above her head. Sherlock followed the movements of her tiny arms to the three baskets on the shelf.

"Well. I can try that if you insist." He said and pulled down the basked in the middle.

"Oh!” Sherlock said with astonishment in his voice “You were right! Thank you!"

He took out what he needed, put everything next to Rosie and started to undress her. 

"I'm very sorry if I do this wrong but you have to forgive me. It’s my first time, you know? Even I have to learn certain things.” Rosie whimpered. “Yeah I know! It’s hard to believe but it’s true.” 

Sherlock talked with a calm voice. He was just about to dress her in something he guessed was a sleepsuit as the baby started to cry. Very loudly. 

"No! No Rosie! Please don’t cry!" Sherlock quickly finished to dress her and tried to calm her.

"Did I manage to hurt you?! Did I do it wrong? You probably miss your father. I shouldn’t have done that! Shh... Please stop crying."

Out of pure desperation Sherlock did the first thing that came into his mind. He covered his face with both of his hands just to pull them away and to make a funny face. He repeated to change his face and started to create different noises with it.

"Yeah I know I have a weird face but you don't have to cry because if it." Said Sherlock and blew a raspberry on Rosie’s belly. She started to giggle.

"Ohh you like that? Once again?"

Sherlock repeated his doing and touched Rosie’s laughing cheeks with his fingertips as she put her fingers into his locks. He started to laugh and tried to free himself out of her death grip but got interrupted by a sniffing by the door.

Sherlock stopped mid act and looked to the source of the noise. John was standing with one hand on the door and holding his mobile phone in the other. He tried to hold back his silent tears but he failed as let his head fall to his chest. 

"She- she started to cry and I wanted to stop her doing that." Sherlock said as explanation why he was so close to John’s daughter. Rosie let go of his hair so he could return to an upright position. 

"I took her out of your arms because you fell asleep. I- I didn’t want to wake you. If I overstepped I apologize-"

"No." john simply said.

"No?"

"No you didn't."

"I see." Sherlock said but he really didn't. If John wasn’t angry why would he look so hurt?

John took a deep breath.

"I hate that I have to remind myself that some people -well especially Sherlock Holmes - don’t show emotions and love freely. They suppress it and hide it from the world.” John said quietly as he took a few steps into the room so he could stand next to the changing table. The room wasn’t very big so Sherlock and John practically stood next to each other. 

John put his free hand on Rosie’s head and kept quiet before he started to talk again. “You know, I’m not a person who is sentimental. I don’t have pictures of my parents or my sister in my home. But I think you already know that. For a long time I thought the most valuable thing I owned was that picture Mrs. Hudson took of me and M-“ 

John stopped to speak and covered his face with his hand as new tears welled up in his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and kept his eyes on Rosie as he talked.

“That picture of me, Mary and Rosie. But I was wrong.”

Sherlock didn’t know what he had to do. Was he supposed to comfort John or should he keep on listening? 

“Now I am the owner of this beautiful picture where my best friend, who has absolutely no idea how to handle any situations with emotions involved, tries to calm down a baby who has just lost its mother! I-“ 

Sherlock was confused. “I don’t know what to say. Did I do it wrong?”

“No you bloody idiot! You didn’t do it wrong. I’m just- I’m just thankful that’s all.” John said and looked for the first time at Sherlock.

Sherlock starred at John and had no idea what to do. Should he step back from Rosie?

“You know, I never can get her to calm down when she starts crying like that. But you managed.”

“I think she couldn’t stop herself from laughing because of my face. It’s... funny I suppose.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way.” John said smiling. “And you did absolutely nothing wrong. I’m sorry that you feel like you have.”

Sherlock wanted to say something comforting but he couldn’t find the words. So he just showed John one of his rare smiles. “Well... Should I put her to bed?” 

John nodded with his head. Sherlock took the baby in his arms and carried her to the cot. He carefully laid her under the sheets, took the little stuffed animal from the end of her bed and placed it next to her head.

John watched Sherlock as he stepped back from the cot. “You are good with her.”

Sherlock doubtfully looked at John. “Yeah sure.”

“She is just like you, you know?” John whispered.

“What do you mean?”

John chuckled as he left the room. “She never wants to sleep.”


End file.
